The 2026 J City Ray represents a significant advancement in Chinese automotive manufacturing, offering a compelling blend of performance, technology, and affordability that challenges established rivals in the UAE market.
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[Music]
This is Dubai, a place we like to call
the crown jewel of the UAE. But first,
let me introduce myself. I'm Philip, an
autojournalist, and I've spent over 20
years in this wonderful country. Living
here, you start noticing the subtle
shifts in the cars we drive and the
brands we trust. And lately, there's one
shift that's very hard to ignore.
We are of course talking about Chinese
cars and let's be honest, they've been
all over the news lately and for good
reason. They've been doing a lot of
things right and clearly people in the
UAE have been buying in. So, we thought
why not start our first video with
something that's left quite an
Welcome everyone to the 2026 J City Ray.
Now, before you dismiss this as just
another Chinese car, let me quickly hit
you with a few facts. Firstly, this car
shares its platform with none other than
the Volvo XC40. Second, when put up
against its rivals like the Nissan
Kicks, the City Ray is not just the most
powerful, but it's the most affordable
in this category. Third, it drives
beautifully. And finally, it comes with
more tech than the phone in your pocket.
So, in this video, we'll be trying to
explain to you why we think that this is
the most ideal crossover for the urban jungle.
jungle. [Music]
Let's start by talking about the
styling. The City Ray's design doesn't
scream for detention. It's clean, well
proportionate, and wellfinished. At
first glance, it reminds you of the
bigger sibling, the Star Ray. And these
sharp LED headlamps, doesn't it remind
you of the Saber 2 Tiger? Moving over to
the sides, these sharp lines follow all
the way to the sides as well, ending
with a sloping roof. And this pays
dividend to the interior space which
we'll get to in a minute. And at the
bottom we have GT tires which have run
flat feature and can be opted with 18 or
19in alloy wheels. Moving over to the
rear you get a very sporty design. The
sloping roof ends with a sharp aventador
spoiler and lower down you get these
connected LED tail lamps with a sharp
and pointy design giving it a very
sporty appeal. [Music]
[Music] [Applause]
[Music]
Okay, so now that I've had my fair share
of time in the City Ray, let's talk
about the interior. Now, the first thing
you would notice is this large 13.3 in
portrait oriented display. Here you can
access your wireless Android Auto and
Apple CarPlay, your vehicle settings,
and so on. Now, the annoying thing here
is that since there are no physical
buttons, you can only access your AC
controls through the display, which
could be a problem when you're driving.
Now, it is a good time for us to mention
that the car we have on test is not a
fully spec model. So, we are missing out
on features like a panoramic sunroof, a
540° camera, which also shows you the
undercarriage, a full lad suite, and a
42 color ambient lighting. It also gets
this 10.2 in disment cluster which is
non-interactable but it shows you your
essentials like the speed, the tire
pressures, the revs, the temperatures
and so on. The steering wheel is an
almost octagonal shape and houses the
cruise control and your media buttons.
And get this, it also gets this rotating
volume knob which feels very satisfying.
The dashboard gets a dual tone finish
with white leather inserts and carries
over the pointy arrow shape from the
exterior which can also be seen on the
door panels.
Speaking of the door panels, you get
these quirky window switches and this
rather unusual door release handle.
Here's another interesting feature. The
volume knob can also be used to adjust
your wing mirrors.
Now you would have probably already
noticed that the dual tone finish
carries over to the seats as well which
are finished in a leather and fabric
material. Now the cushioning on the
seats are also very comfortable.
Now moving over to the center console,
it gets a gloss black finish which is a
fingerprint magnet. Moving over to the
practicality side, on the front you get
space to store two phones and once you
roll this back you have enough space to
store a 500 ml bottle twice. Now, at the
back of the center console, you get a
chilled storage compartment. And if you
still want more space, there's more
underneath the center console as well,
where you can also find two USBC
charging ports and a 12vt power adapter.
Now, let's talk about the rear
passengers. See, now I'm just under 6'
tall. And with the driver seat adjusted
to my driving position, I have enough
room to stretch my legs. And because of
the sloping roof line I was talking
about earlier, I have plenty of headroom
as well. In terms of comfort features,
you get rear AC vents, a USBA port, and
storage underneath it for your phone.
You can also store a 500 ml bottle in
the door cubby, but you don't get a rear armrest.
Now, let's finally talk about the boot space.
Now, one thing to note is that it
doesn't have an automatic boot lid, but
once it opens up, it opens up to 571 L
of boot space, which in the real world
translates to one bag of each size with
plenty of room to spare. Perfect for a
Now that the practicality bit is sorted
out, let's talk about the best part, the
way this car drives. because it is an
absolute joy to be behind the wheel of
the CTV. Under the hood, you get a 1.5 L
turbocharged engine that makes 172
horsepower and 290 Nm of torque. We'll
get to the power in a bit because first
I want to talk about the transmission.
The City Ray is the only car in its
category at the time of filming to
feature a wet DCT gearbox, meaning it
uses oil to cool the transmission. This
will significantly reduce the chances of
it overheating, especially in Dubai's
traffic. And the goodness doesn't stop
there because the shifts are so smooth
that it's barely noticeable. Allow me to demonstrate.
See, the car comes with four driving
modes. By default, it's in comfort mode.
You also get the option of sport, eco,
or if you're not sure about any of
those, you can switch it to intelly
mode, where the car adapts to the way
you drive. For now, let me switch it to
sport mode and show you how it accelerates.
See, there is a slight delay when you
press the pedal, but then the torque
kicks in and you can barely keep up with
the numbers on the speedo. It almost
feels as quick as the electric Volvo C40 Recharge.
Recharge.
The city is so talky that there's no
real need to wait for the power to kick
in, even at highway speeds. It's not the
kind of experience one can describe.
It's something you will have to feel for yourself.
yourself.
>> Around the corners, the car feels very
composed and confident. The steering
also stiffens up according to the
driving modes, giving you better
control. For an SUV, the suspension is
on the stiffer side, but it's a lot more
Okay, so let's wrap it up. See, I think
that the City Ray is the perfect example
to prove that Chinese manufacturers have
evolved to a point where it can give any
other brands a run for its money. I
mean, it's a well-built, well thoughtout
product that's fast, refined, and packed
with features. It would no doubt make an
average user's daily drive a whole lot
more easier. So, final thoughts. Well,
if you're in the market for a new
crossover, put those apprehensions aside
and give the city a test drive. I can
assure you that you will not regret it.
Now, if you feel like buying the car
outright is not a feasible option for
you right now, you can always opt to
either rent it from the Selfrive app or
even lease it. And that's a wrap on this
video. Thank you all for joining. This
is Philip signing off. [Music]
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